Between attending classes, coordinating community service for Campus Ministries and being a Gymnaires team captain, Adam Anderson’s schedule is packed. However, the junior international rescue and relief major from Randolph, Alabama, always finds time to go to the gym. “Fitness is so much more than staying fit for me,” he said. “It makes me happy and gives me a goal and satisfaction in life. I just really enjoy doing it. It brings people together. If you do gymnastics with someone, you can build close friendships. I plan to never stop working out in some shape or form.”
As a captain for Union’s acrosport gymnastics team, the Gymnaires, much of the exercise Adam does is to improve his gymnastics abilities. “My main job in gymnastics is being a base, lifting girls up and stunting. You have to be strong to do that. So that’s why I incorporate a lot of overhead pressing, squats and deadlifting. Gymnastics is more skill-based, but being strong helps you get those skills faster. I don’t do gymnastics to stay fit, I stay fit to do gymnastics. I also love tennis, basketball, football and volleyball, but the sport I do the most is gymnastics.”
Adam’s exercise journey began at age 15 when he got his driving permit. “I’d drive myself to the gym,” he said. “I got a job as a lifeguard at the YMCA so I could work out for free. I started working out five times a week. As a senior in high school, I joined my school’s gymnastics team. I’ve been doing gymnastics for four years now. I used to just do weightlifting and bodybuilding stuff, now I do gymnastics power workouts and body weight workouts. I’ve done Crossfit and running. Any of it is fun; I enjoy all of it.”
Adam’s love of exercise isn’t just a hobby; he plans to make it his day job. “I’m doing the Pre-PT route with a degree in international rescue and relief, so I plan to become a physical therapist,” he shared. “I would love to go into sports medicine for a while because I’m interested in sports. I’m also very interested in geriatrics and making people’s lives better as they get older. But I also love kids, so I could do pediatrics. I don’t want to just stay in one job for my whole career. I want to do lots of different things.”
Adam thinks the new wellness center that Union is planning to build will be just what the campus needs. “Larson is super small and it’s crammed full. You can’t fit a lot of people in there. I don’t go there at night because there’s too many people there to get a good workout. A lot of people here have to buy memberships at local gyms because this gym is just inadequate for what they do. They need more space, or need better hours of operation. For gymnastics, having another gym would be huge, because we could potentially have our own space. Having a new facility would be a big deal on campus.”
By Annika Cambigue
